{"id":85914,"date":"2025-05-28T15:22:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T22:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=85914"},"modified":"2025-06-01T19:53:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T02:53:03","slug":"lazy-dough-a-creative-new-brunch-spot-on-fourth-street-is-a-chefs-playground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/lazy-dough-a-creative-new-brunch-spot-on-fourth-street-is-a-chefs-playground","title":{"rendered":"Lazy Dough, a creative new brunch spot on Fourth Street, is a chef\u2019s playground"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ever since he was little, Hen Nguyen has had a passion for cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With degrees in advanced culinary arts, pastry and baking arts, and restaurant management, he has turned that passion into his life\u2019s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He started his career as an intern at Providence, a seafood restaurant in West Hollywood with two Michelin stars. Now, Hen Nguyen brings his expertise to Long Beach as the co-owner and head chef of Lazy Dough, a new brunch spot that soft-opened on May 9, taking over the building that was formerly Seabirds Kitchen<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Croissant French toast at Lazy Dough breakfast and lunch cafe in Long Beach, on Friday, May 27, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI created this place as, like a playground, not just for me, but also for everybody else, for whoever has a strong passion with food, [and is] creative,\u201d Hen Nguyen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lazy Dough offers coffee, matcha lattes, fresh-baked pastries, a selection of breakfast and lunch items like breakfast burritos, sandwiches, pizzas, and salads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hen Nguyen\u2019s favorite things to make are the croissants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI make it every day. I just love the smell of butter, the smell of the yeast. I\u2019m just in love with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s turned the pastry into a canvas for dishes like his eggs Benedict croissant and croissant French toast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The eggs Benedict croissant at Lazy Dough breakfast and lunch cafe in Long Beach, on Friday, May 27, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steak and eggs in a cast iron skillet at Lazy Dough. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He particularly enjoys making the Dubai croissant that\u2019s filled with pistachio paste in the center, topped with chocolate and shredded phyllo dough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best part of being the head chef, Hen Nguyen said, is being able to express his creativity in new dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fun part is creating something, and [bringing] joy to the customer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Hen Nguyen is focused on the food, his older sister Lin Nguyen handles the management side of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beet and berry salad at Lazy Dough. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A festive table filled with various dishes from the Lazy Dough. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lin Nguyen helped encourage her brother to start the restaurant after seeing how excited people were about his food. She used to bring dishes he\u2019d cooked to her work at a pharmacy. Her coworkers loved them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt totally changed everybody’s day. Everybody got so excited about the food, and it made me happy,\u201d Lin Nguyen said. She wanted to share that feeling with the community. \u201cI want to make people feel like they’re welcome, they’re important. I’m here to make their day happy, and that will make me happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While they\u2019re still learning the restaurant business, Lin Nguyen said they\u2019re focused on creating a positive experience for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dubai Chocolate Latte at Lazy Dough. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lazy Dough breakfast and lunch cafe in Long Beach, on Friday, May 27, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal here is to create a very relaxing environment where people come in and feel welcome, enjoy good food and don’t have to break the bank,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average price for a dish at Lazy Dough is $14.50, with the most expensive menu item being the steak and eggs skillet, which costs $22. The average price for a drink is $5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lazy Dough will have its grand opening on June 20 and will be open five days a week. Until then, the Nguyens are using this time to learn everything they can to perfect their craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lazy Dough, 975 E Fourth Street, is currently open Friday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story has been updated with a new grand opening date.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you had croissant French toast? How about a Dubai croissant? They\u2019re just some of the breakfast delights now being served out of the space that used to hold Seabirds Kitchen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":85902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32346],"class_list":["post-85914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85914"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85982,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85914\/revisions\/85982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85914"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=85914"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=85914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}